Stacking and counting machine



Aug. 19 1924.

A. W. HILSINGER STACKING AND COUNTI-NG MACHINE Filed June 18. 1921 5Sheets-Sheet l 32313 @htm/mm3 Allg l f i A. W. HILSINGER STACKING ANDcoUNTING MACHINE Filed June 1S. 1921 5 sheets-sheet 2 Aug. 19 1924.1,505,595

. A. W. HILSINGER STACKING AND COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 18. 1921 5Sheets-Sheet 5 .ulllI-llllll 33H3 St/tom Aug. 19, r1924.v A1505595 A. W.HILSINGR STACKING AND COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 18. 192! 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 19, 1924; A'1,505,595

A. w. HlLslNGl-:R

STACKING AND COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 18. 1921l 5 Sheets-Sheet 5Patented ug. 19, 1924.

, MEM =-FricE.

Anm w. Hitsincea, or cannes, nEWlJnasnY, assitance To HENRY BRADY, Inc.,nk

CORPORATION or New, JERSEY. f

s'recmne AND CQUNTIKNG ifincninn Application jledJune 18,

' ent application of Brady and y Hilsinger,

Ser. No. 184,202.

Reierring to the accompanying drawings, l have illustrated in Fig. 1 inperspective, an attachment embodying an application of my invention.Fig. 2, is a detail in perspective, parts being broken'` away,illustrating parto the :Eeeding'meclianisnm LFig. 3, is another detailof the same. Fig. y4, is a View looking from right to left at Fig. 3.Fig. 5, is a plan view showing part ofthe mechanism tor shifting theraclrsvfor `the trays. Fig. 6, is an enlarged detail in perspective ofa. rack or stacking 'frame attach-- ment. Fig. 7, is a View lookingupwardly at Fig. Fig. 8, is an enlarged cross-sectional detail a stacl;retaining mechanism, and Fig. 9, is a view loolting upward ly at thesame. Fig. 10, is a view `looking down upon the three-legged counterdevice' shown in Figs. 3 and 4,'and Fig. 11'is another View of the sainein its shifted position. Fig. 12, is a perspective view, parts brokenaway illustrating part of a boX guiding mechanism. Fig. 13, is an en,larged detail of part of the counting mechanism. Fig. 14,`is a frontelevation' showing'y part of the stacked box retaining mecha-y nism,andvFig. 15, a view at right angles thereto. Fig. 16, is a detail of thestack shitting mechanism in perspective.

Referring now more particularly to Fig.

.1, it will be observed thaty :the attachment y may be driven by belt orsprocket chain such as 7, adapted vto engage sprocket wheel 8, upon theshaft 9,` upon whic-his also secured the grooved pulley 10. By`reference now .more particularly to' Fig. 2, it will-beob-y served thatthis grooved pulleyisprovided with a rope or strap drive 11, whichvvpasses upwardly from the same over the pulley 12 stack.

1921. i seiiai no. 478,538.

and ,beneath the pulley 15, havingcounterweight '16, over the pulley 17,pulley 18, and beneath guide 19, around pulley 20, pulley'21, and aroundpulley 23, beneath the guide 22, over pulley `2 4, pulleyr 25,y andaround the grooved pulley ,10, originally referredr to, from which itAwill be seenthat the rope or strap movesk forwardly and subfstantially` parallel to engage yby friction the sidesot the tray or boxsuch as 25,- which finally reaches the position within therack or frame26, shown in Fig. 6, the upwardly projecting standards 27 of which arevprovided with suitable light springssuch as 28,.shown,to .advantageinFigs. r14 and 15. n Referring now again to Fig. 1, it willbe observedthat at the inner end of the shaft 9 there is provided a crank v29,carryingthe connecting rod 30, pivotally lmounted upon the `verticallyslotted plunger 31, at the top of which is provided a platform 32 (see`Fig. 3), carrying guidesy 33,` engaging beneath the boxr25"y :isshown indotted outline at 34. yThis servespto raisey the `box beyond the springretaining device 2/8, shown tok advantage in Figs. 14 and 15, by. whichthe boxes are held beneath the bottom ofthe n `Aseach box is lifted, theendof the same striking ther lever 35, pivoted at 36,

lthrows the lower end of said lever leftwardly looking at Fig. 3, `andbeing connectedby rod 37 to the leg 38, of the three-legged member 39,yshown to better advantage in Figs. 10 and y11theleg 40 of said mem beris brought in therpatli of the .projection 41 of the centrally pivotedlever 42, upon the same axis with which is alsor mounted the lever 43,pivotally connectedfto therod 44', the lower end of which is yofwedgeshape formation as *showny at 45, and is adapted to operate the cam460i the pawl 47, pivoted at'48 andretained by. spring 49 which isksecured. at 50 as shown, so that with each descent of the verticallyyslottedy member 31,1 providing the pawl 47 hasnot been operated by thewedgemember 45, the l pawl 47%pivotally mounted. upon` the same andtraveling ,with it, engages a tooth in the ratchet whe-elr 51,therebyurotating ity lett-r wardly onetooth. In caseabox is notlift-.ed'so as to strike the lever 35, `the leg40 bemg inthe path ofthe lever41,,y strikes lever `41,",Ethereby depressing the rod 44 ywhich 47 clearof the pinion 51, with the result that no count is made. At the sametime, the tapered member 111, moving in the path of the hinged member109, swings the member 109 in the path of the button thereby cutting offthe current and stopping the machine.

The ratchet wheel 51 may be provided with say twenty-five teeth, and isalso preferably provided with a member 52 which travels therewith, ,andwhich in 'its travel encounters the end of the lever 53, which isthereby pressed downwardly once each time twenty-five boxes have beenpushed up by the machine as aforesaid. As the rod 53 is pushed down, itcarries with it the rod 54,- which may be formed therewith, and at thetop of which it will be observed by reference to Fig. 3, a sort o-f cap55 is provided, beneath which projects a suitable resilient member 56,vfrom the top of thelever 57, yso that as the vertically slotted member31 rises, and the rod 57 is thrown rightwardly looking at F ig. 3, theengagement member 55 Ithereof ybecomes seated and 'locked within` therecess 58 of said slotted member.

At the lower end of the rod 57 is pivota-llyv mounted a rocking arm 59,which is also pivotally Amounted at the axis of the ratchet wheel 62,and at the opposite end of the rocking armr59V is secured the bearing 60carrying the pawl 61, which engages thc ratchet wheel 62, therebyrotating said ratchet wheel one tooth for each twenty-five 'boxesliftedv above the machine.

After the ratchet wheel 62 has rotated once, which means in theillustration given, live teeth, one hundred vand twenty-five boxes shallhavey been elevated in the stacker rack immediately above the slottedmember 31, and then the projecting member 63, adjacent the ratchet 62,will be in 'a p0- sition to strike the, enlargement 64, upon the arm 6,5pivotally mounted at 66, and to which are connected the rods 67 and 68,the lrod 67 being pivotally connected attlie top at 69'to the :lever 70,and the' rod 68 being 'connected tothe lever 71, pivoted upon vthe shaft72, and being of L-shaped formation, thereby pushing the rod 73connected thereto rightwardly, which said rod, being pivoted at 74, andhaving an engage* ment member 75, releases the upper disc 76 upon theshaftr 78, from the lower disc 77 upon the pinion 79, which discsnormally engage by friction as a clutch. The shaft 78, at its lower end,has the pinion 79, en gaging the wormv 80, upon the drive shaft 9, andthe lever 81 at the Vopposite end thereof has itsV free end bearing 81free to travel within the guide 82, which ,is part of the stack carriageshown in Fig. 16, and which is thereby reciprocated together with itsstack along the guide' 83 lat the top of the machine as shown, which ina few words means ythat every time one hundred and twenty-five boxeshave been counted and y stacked, that particular stack is shifted, out

Vo position, and an empty stacking frame .is replaced in position for anew stack of boxes. 1

pivotally mounted at 87 and a stop 88 is mounted at ythe opposite` sideand serves as an obstruction for the leftward movement of the stacks,looking at Fig. 1. When the lever 67 lifts, however, the stop 88 is ofcourse depressed out of the path of the stack,

and in moving downwardly carries with it the spring member 89, providedwith a stop member 90, which 'is also depressed to clear the path ofmovement of the stack. As the stack moves leftwardly, the pin 91traveling in the path of the lug 92, shifts the same, and also themember 93 against the action of the spring` 94, the distanceinoved beingallowed for by t-he vslots 95. `This allows the new stack to come intoposition, afterwhich the stop member 88, having cleared vthe j spring89. is now free to be operated in the path of the next stack, afterwhich the slide 93 yreturns to its normal position under .influence ofthe springs 94. The entire column of one hundred and twenty-five boxeswill therefore rest upon the ledges suoli as 95 in the base of thestack, and by inverting the stack, may be readily dumped out `by gravityfor packing or wrapping as may7 be required, thus providing athoroughlyautomatic means `for stacking and counting withoutinterruption of the machine in `an' ,Y particular.

Also in the sides of the guides y83-83 are provided suitable vresilientmembers '96,'

which project therethrough as shown in Figs. 8 and 9to prevent theshifting back of the racks as they are moved forwardly, and thesemembers may be vmounted upon suitable screws suohas 97 and may beprovided with suitable springs, suoli as 98' if desired. f

It will also be observed that each time the lever 57 is depressed, beingconnected'to the rocker arm 59, the rod 99 connected atl theopposite endis lifted, and being pivoted at 100 to the rod 101; lifts the same,together with the frame 102 at the top tliereof,.wh=ich lsaid frame`carries the frame 103 by the rods 104, extending throughfthe table10.5, the said frame 103 serving to lift each group of twenty-five boXesWhich are retained by the fingers 28 and clear the machine entering thestacking framesfabove, so as to leave clearance for the accumulation ofthe next twenty-live, and so on, and upon the table` 105 may beprovidedsuitable' standards such as 106, for guides such as 107, Which may bespring retained as indicated at 108, to control the stacking of theboxes before the same are pushed into the stacker frames. y

Referring again to Figs. 3 and 4, it Will be observed that a switchoperating vmechanism 109, is mounted upon the slotted vertically movingmember 31, and ispivotally mounted as indicated at 110, so thatit can beythrown out rightvvardly by contact with the tapered member 111, Themember 109, traveling with the slotted member 81, is controlled by themovement of the latter. Member 111 being operated'by Contact with theleg 410 controls the position of the tapered member 109 which beingpivotally mounted is swung in the path of the button 112 which isdepressed, the current being on. If the counter is not operating,however, the tapered member 111 advances ,to throw out the taperedmember 109, and it therefore travels in the path of the button 113 whichit strikes and cuts off the current,

by the sleeve 122, and the opposite end isr secured to the standard 123,so that normally the Weight of the arms 119-119,v and the light metaldeck 124, carried thereby'is supported by said spring. The deck 124, ispreferably pivotally secured to the bar 125 carried lby pivoted arms 120and also piv otally secured to the bar 125, said bar 125 being in turnpreferably secured to the arms 119-119, so that with little effort thedeck,

124 may be depressed, but in doing so depresses substantially flat orhorizontally, allowing a box caught or buckled thereupon, to escapebeneath the platform 105.

Of course it will be understood that Vfvarious modifications may be madein the construction and arrangement of parts Without departing from thespirit of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. In an attachment of the class described having astacker, means forfeeiilingcontainers beneath the stacker, ymeans vfor successivelyshifting said containers vertically Within saidstaclier, means forautomatically shifting said staclrei's successively as apredeterminednumber of containers are stacked therein, and said means for feedingsaid containers comprising parallel vmoving fric-` tion engaging means.

2. :In an attachment of fthe class described, a stacker and means forsuccessively and` automatically shifting said stackers `as apredetermined numberhof containers are stacked in each of the same. i Y

3. In a machine of theclass described, means for lifting the 'boxessuccessively, stackingracls to receive the same, and means forautomatically replacing a filled rack with an empty one each time a predetermined number of boxes havey been stacked therein.`r

` 4. In ar machine of the class described, means 4forlifting the boxessuccessively, stacking racks to receive th-e same, and means forautomatically replacing a Yiilled rack With an empty one each time a predetermined number' of boxes have been stacked therein 'and means forholding the empty racks until a preceding rack has been filled. f f

5. In a machine'of thev class described, means forwlifting the bonesysuccessively, stacking racks to receive the same, and means forautomatically replacing` a filled rack With an empty one each time apref. determined number of vboxes have been stacked `therein and, meansfor holding the empty racks until a preceding rack has been filled,randmeans for preventingthefbaclfn ward movement of said racks.

6. Ina machine of the class described. amulti-sided stacking rack openentirelyv along one side except at the base. y 7. Ina` machine of theclassr describeda shiftingdeck'over-vvhich the bonesfpass, as they enterthe stacker. a

8. AIn a machine of the class described, a continuous belt feed for theboxes, and guides adjacent thereto for said belt.-

9. In a machine of the class described, a single continuous belt feedfor the boxes, and guides adjacent thereto for said belt said beltrhavingparallel moving transverse por- A tions, engaging said boxes.

10. In a machine of the class described, means for stacking and countingthe boxes. and means for automatically discontinuing the operation ofsaidstaclrer when said counting means becomes inoperative.

11. Ina machine of the class described, means for lifting each boxsuccessively.` means for thereafter lifting ay predetermined number ofsaid successively lifted boxes, and means for stacking and counting thesame.

12. In a machine of the class described,

means for lifting each box successively, means for thereafter lifting` apredetermined number of said successively lifted boxes, and means forstacking and counting the same and in combination therewith stacl'ersfor holding predetermined quantities oi1 said boxes, and means forshifting said'staclrers into and out ofposition as the same are iilled.y

13. Ina vmachine of the class described, a plunger forfeeding the traysupwardly, means for feeding the trays laterally to said plunger, saidplunger being adapted to serve as a stop Afor each succeeding tray aseach preceding tray is stacked.

141. In a machine of the class described, a countingv device 'forcounting the trays formed and stacked, and automatic means tordiscontinuing the operation of said z counting` device whenever a trayfails to move upwardly into said stacker'.

15. In a machine of the class described, a stacking frame having an openbottom and guides within which a predetermined num- 'i ber of trays maybe vertically stacked.

16. In a machine of the class described, a stacking frame having an openbottom and guides within which va predetermined number of trays may bevertically stacked, and in combination therewith means for holding; apredetermined number of trays therein above subsequent trays 'beingstacked therein.

17. In a machine of the class described,

stacks within which the Atrays when formed are secured, and means incombination with said stacks for removing a iilled stack by an emptystack and placing said empty stack into position for receiving saidtrays.

18. In a machine of the class described, stacks within which the trayswhen formed are' secured, and means in combination with said stacks forremoving a iilled stack by an empty stack and placing said empty stackinto position for receiving saidtrays, and

means for retaining said stack in position for a further supply of trayswhen an empty t stack is not in posit-ion to take the place ot' saidstack being lled.,

19. In a machine of the class described, means for vertically stackingtrays as formed in predetermined quantities, and in combinationtherewith means for 'retaining stacks of said trays at oppositeedgesthereof.

20: In a machine of the class described, means for vertically stackingsaid trays as the same are formed', and in combination therewithresilient fingers for retain-- ing,` said trays in their upwardlystacked` position.

21. In a machine of the class described a continuous feeding belt forthe trays as formed, said belt having portions moving` ing previouslystacked groups of said boxes,

said means for stacking said groups controlled by' said successive. boxstacking mechanism. y.

Q5. .In a machine of the class described, means for stacking andcounting boxes, and in combination therewith means Jfor stacking groupsof said boxes previously successively stacked.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

ADIN W. HIIJSINGER.

JN un

